The City of Fayette is taking action on the Mulberry Street bridge that was closed by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) in late February.

Following an inspection, MoDOT engineers told the city the bridge had to be closed indefinitely.

The deterioration of the bridge has been known to the city for some time. In June 2023, the city applied for a grant to repair or replace the bridge, which was constructed in 1974. The grant application stated that the bridge “is at the end of its service life and is severely deteriorated and unsafe.”

The grant was denied, and no further action occurred on the matter. At the time, the cost to replace the bridge was estimated at $442,500. City Administrator Deanna Cooper predicts that with inflation, the current cost is likely to exceed a half-million dollars. She hopes the city can secure a grant to help pay for the replacement or refurbishment of the bridge.

“It’s already a pre-approved project for us to even be able to apply. That sets us up very well,” Cooper said.

The city council last week unanimously approved hiring Howe Company, LLC, a civil engineering firm out of Macon, for a bridge assessment analysis. The study is expected to take two to three months to complete.

“There is a sense of urgency,” Cooper said. “Timing is everything. It’s imperative we get the right information now. It sees school buses, city vehicles, and dump trucks. The night we closed it, we had 50-some school buses up for CMU Music Fest the next day. We are fortunate.”

The bridge closure affects more than just area residents. It also crosses a creek between the Central Methodist University football field and practice field. In October, the university announced a new $30 million capital improvement campaign that includes the construction of a new soccer facility at Alexander Field, the practice field that lies just north of the bridge. If the bridge remains closed, it would force dump trucks and other heavy equipment to travel through a narrow residential street to reach the area.

It also impacts funeral processions, as Mulberry Street becomes County Road 203, which leads to Walnut Ridge Cemetery less than a half-mile from the bridge.

Cooper explained that Howe Company, LLC, has been pre-certified and pre-qualified by the state. “They are an extremely well-respected company at the state level. They take care of pretty close to 30% of the bridges in the state.”

The action by the Board of Aldermen was spurred by a recommendation by the council’s finance committee. “We have to do something now,” explained Southwest Ward Alderman J. B. Waggoner. “We can’t wait to see if we might get some funding for it.”